


Glass Kiss

by Rukazaya



Category: Durarara!!
Genre: Amnesia, Curses, Fluff and Angst, Hurt/Comfort, It was my idea of Hans Anderson's "Little Mermaid" but very different lol, M/M, Memory Loss, Miracles, Monkey's Paw
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-11-08
Updated: 2019-05-01
Packaged: 2019-08-20 17:44:41
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 7
Words: 15,844
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16560368
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Rukazaya/pseuds/Rukazaya
Summary: Izaya gives up his voice for immortality and eternal youth. However, little did he know, he would also give up his memory of Shizuo only to fall in love with him on first sight.





	1. Chapter 1

Izaya laughed in mockery at the witch who offered him eternal life for such small a price. 

“Are you telling me that I can be an immortal and I would never die as long as I don’t speak?” Orihara Izaya asked in amusement at the woman sitting in front of him. As an informant and a man who sought out supernatural beings and mystical arts, he had read upon and researched hundreds and thousands of lores, followed up and unearthed myths after myths to uncover the truth. But this, this sounded too easy. 

“Yes.”The old woman in a dark cloak replied. She sat in front of a crystal ball like any old fortune teller, her fingers thin with long crooked nails. She looked the part for sure. Izaya had gone to great lengths to find her, the rumored fortune teller who could not only foresee the future, but for the right price, she could grant your wishes. Each wish would cost something that was important to the person and in this case, she asked for his voice. Or more precisely, the ability to communicate using his voice. 

The infamous Shinjuku informant tapped his fingers on the round table before him, the soft purple cloth muting his drumming. 

“So, you’re saying, that as long as I don’t speak, I will not die? And that’s my price?” Izaya repeated the question, slightly changing the wording on purpose.   
  
“In a manner of speaking,” The hood covered her eyes, but Izaya could see a tiny thin smile in the shadows. 

“How will I die?” Izaya decided to ask further. He understood how the monkey’s paw story went. He’d rather find out the exact price and punishment. After all, Izaya was sure that this ‘wish’ was more a curse rather than a miracle. But holy grail or no, he planned to overturn his fate no matter what the cost. His voice for eternal life felt too easy. Far too easy. 

“The air you breath will turn to poison and will turn your lungs to ashes.” Her voice sounded dead and cold. 

“That’s pretty descriptive.” Izaya was not deterred by her intimidation, brushing it off as he did when Shiki took on a similar tone. In fact, he noted how precise those instructions were instead. He thought about it. “What if I sneezed, does that count?”

The witch shook her head, looking a bit peeved. Most would shudder when she delivered her curse with her chilling voice but no. This man had shrugged and asked, ‘what if I sneezed?’

“Alright what about burping? That’s okay too? What if someone poked me with a sharp object and I scream?” Izaya smirked as he felt a small irritation grow.

“Involuntary sounds, the wish will allow. But if you were to try to communicate with someone even through any sounds, the curse will take effect.”

“Ah, what if I want to talk into an empty room? No one is listening so it’s alright, right?” Izaya grinned innocently. 

“No talking is allowed whether someone can hear you or not. Same will go for any recording devices.” Yes, the woman was clearly getting annoyed by the twenty questions. However, Izaya had more. This was just the beginning. 

“So as soon as I talk, suddenly the air I breathe will turn to poison? Will it take a few seconds before the curse take effect? How many seconds?” Izaya raised his hands and gave a shoulder shrug.

The witch rolled her eyes. At least, Izaya felt it behind her hood. But that meant something. Izaya was already forming a plan in his head, turning the idea over and over like a rubix cube which he knows how to turn to line up all the colors.

“Well, let's put that aside for now.” Izaya waved it off as if he was changing the topic. “If I lose my voice, I can talk using sign language yes? And typing and texting?”

“Yes, that will be fine.” The witch nodded. 

“How about sleep talking? It wouldn’t be voluntary after all.” Izaya switched back to the same topic which he knew would annoy the hell out of her… and it did. 

“Any involuntary sounds are allowed. I will allow sleep talking.” The witch muttered. 

“Oh whew, glad to hear that. It would suck if I end up dead after I go to bed you know?” Izaya chuckled. “So what happens if I’m buried alive? Or someone ties my feet with cement rock and throws me into Tokyo Bay?”

“You will still live. Forever.” The witch smirked. 

“Oh dear, I guess I’ll make a mental note not to make too many enemies...” Izaya smiled easily but again he stashed that information in his head as he started to formulate a plan. “Does that mean I will feel the pain? Let’s say I’m stabbed a million times…”

“You will feel every single pain. Being voiceless only grants eternal life, not being free from pain.”

“And what’s the cost to not feel any pain?” Izaya asked as he leaned forward with a Cheshire cat smile. 

“I will take away your eyesight.”

“Hmmm… to be mute and blind?” Izaya thought about it. 

“Nah, I don’t think I’ll take that cost.” Izaya shrugged as he sat back down, scratching his neck casually. “To be blind and mute forever? Yeah, I’ll pass.” Sure he wanted eternal life but also a ‘comfortable’ eternal life. 

The witch shrugged. 

“Oh right, how do I heal?” Izaya asked. 

“You will heal normally.” She replied. 

“I can’t grow a head if my head gets chopped off... Or can I?” Izaya raised an eyebrow.

‘Your body parts will assemble together.” The witch growled. “It will depend on each process.”

“Like they would crawl towards me like those zombie movies?” Izaya giggled. Then he thought about it. “Meaning I can have scars and such?”

“Yes.”

“...wait… if you say I heal normally…” Izaya squinted. “I am guessing that this eternal life deal doesn't include eternal youth, does it?”

“No.” The witch looked mildly amused. And also mildly irritated. 

“Oh that can’t do. I can’t live a thousand years old with all the scars and bruises and look like a mummy, nope. Yeah, I need eternal youth.” Izaya shook his head as if he had already decided on the deal. “What’s the price?”

“I will take away your most precious memory.”

“?? Can you be more specific?” Izaya frowned at that.

“I will take away all the memories of Heiwajima Shizuo.” 

“...” Izaya had three full seconds of silence before he burst out laughing. “Precious memory? SHIZUO?! Are you out of your mind?! Hahahahahahaha!!!” Izaya laughed as if he had threw down a ganguro girl’s pink cellphone and was stomping on it maniacally. 

“Alright, you can have it. It’s not that much of a memory anyway.” Izaya snorted as he wiped tears from the corners of his eyes. “Do you seriously think that’s my most precious memory?”

“He consumes your thoughts the most, according to my crystal ball.” Her lips twitched to turn into a snide smirk. 

This time, it was Izaya’s turn to be irritated. 

“Well you can have my memory of the damn protozoan, it’s completely useless and I’d rather have eternal beauty and youth over that. Dorian Gray be damned.” Then Izaya thought about it harder, trying to figure out if there were any loopholes in this odd exchange.

“If I forget Shizuo… does that mean I will never remember him even if I meet him later?”

“You will remember him. Just not before today.”

Izaya turned the idea over in his head a few more times. Sure Shizuo would most likely try to kill him on the spot but he was an intuitive guy… he should run the other direction right away. That was  _ if  _ he met him before the rumors reached his ears. Shizuo was notorious for his violence, as an informant he would eventually figure out not to cross paths with him, or he  _ would  _ cross paths with him for fun, which wasn’t any different from the now. It sounded fine… what could possibly go wrong? 

“Alright, eternal youth for my memory of Shizu-chan. Done. Only his memory though right, you’re not tampering with anything else?” Izaya asked, his eyes narrowing shrewdly.

“Just his memory, nothing else.”

“Fine, it’s a deal.”

 

* * *

 

After a long deliberation that lasted more than half a day, it was just before sunset when Izaya stepped out of the building. She had him drink a bitter potion, but Izaya downed it. After that, it was all over. He didn’t feel different, but the fortune teller placed her index finger over her lips and shushed him. “Shh… from now on, you must not speak once you step out of this building.”

Izaya considered his options as he started his way back to his suite. He had plenty of ideas how to fight his fate.  He had thought of asking the witch what would happen if he had a surgery that would remove his vocal cords but he knew asking her directly would result in her just adding on to the penalty to make it impossible with his immortality. Well, she said he would live forever but could have scars, meaning not everything would heal exactly the same. However, a missing head could reattach… how about a missing finger? Which would lead to, a surgically removed vocal cord… would it grow back?

There was a lot to experiment. First, he should see Shinra…

“IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIZAAAAAAAAAAAAAYAAAAAAAA-KUUUUUUUUUN! I told you NOT to come back to Ikebukuro!”

The booming voice alerted the informant as he sharply turned his head in the direction of the angry man. An angry handsome blond in a bartender suit. Izaya frowned, he was very good at remembering people, it was his job after all. Especially if he did something to anger them but he didn’t know who…?!

?!!!!!

Izaya gasped out loud as the bartender ripped a vending machine with his bare hands as if he was some superhero in a movie or comic book. The informant’s eyes widened as the brooding yet attractive man lifted it all with just one hand. One. Single. Hand!!

Izaya was still gasping as he watched the blond throw the vending machine into the air. He stood petrified as if his feet were rooted to the ground, completely mesmerized by the stunt. 

“H-hey, IZAYA!!”

Izaya barely heard him as the vending machine crashed into his face. 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello! It's been awhile, sorry I haven't updated Blood Contract, I promise I'll get to it. Meanwhile, have a brand new fanfic! This is a fanfic I had in mind to write back in 2013-2014 or so, but at the time, I was also busy writing Catnip and Blood Contract, I didn't think I could handle 3 big fanfics so I waited until I finished one of them. 
> 
> With Catnip done, and Blood Contract finally more than half way done, I feel like I can introduce this fanfic now. The fandom is smaller but I hope you will give it a try, thank you so much guys~ Love you for still being around and leaving me reviews :3


	2. Chapter 2

_ “Hey! Wake up dammit!” _

 

...

 

_ “Don’t die on me flea!” _

 

...

 

_ “Dammit, you always avoided it before so why now…?!” _

 

...

 

The shouting hurt his head even as the voice faded in and out. He felt intense pain and also numbness in some places. Even though he wanted to sleep, someone was carrying him roughly, bouncing him up and down. Eventually, darkness blanketed over his consciousness, allowing him to rest. 

He felt himself waking up in stages. The tingling sensation of pain woke him up along with hushed voices. 

“Are you sure he’s fine? He got hit in the head.”

“Then you should have taken him to the hospital for CT scan for a concussion. You know I don’t have that kind of equipment here- ah, I think he’s waking up.”

Izaya knew the latter to be Shinra’s voice but he didn’t recognize the other deeper tone. He blinked at the bright light and tried to sit up.

“No, no. Lay down and keep your head still, you most likely got a concussion. How are you feeling Izaya?”

“Ff…” Izaya tried to speak and paused, feeling suddenly so sick in his stomach, his vision darkening and his headache rushing as if something was attacking him, clawing at his throat. He started to cough hard.

“Here, don’t choke. Drink some water.” Shinra used a remote to have the bed sit up halfway as he passed him a glass of water. Izaya felt dizzy and disoriented but the sickness started to disappear. Then he remembered. The contract. 

Right… he made a deal with a devil of a witch. 

Izaya groaned as he sipped his water and gave it back to his doctor friend. Shit… how was he going to explain that he needed a phone to-

“Hey, stupid flea! Don’t pass out on me like that, I almost had a heart attack!”

Izaya turned to stare at a gorgeous looking blond and blinked his eyes. W-who…?! Oh, the man with the insane strength?! W-what was he doing here?! How did he know Shinra?!!

Quickly, he checked his pockets and pulled his cell phone out. Luckily the screen worked fine so he quickly typed something and thrust it into Shinra’s face. The doctor fixed his glasses and carefully read out loud, [Shinra, who is that good looking guy and how do you know him?! Is he your friend?] Then Shinra frowned. “Is this a joke, Izaya-kun?”

“Haaa?!” Shizuo snatched the phone from the nervous man’s hand and glared at the writing. “The hell is this, this isn’t funny, flea. What, are you saying you’re suddenly mute and have amnesia now?!” 

…Good lord, he looked sexy even when he was angry. Izaya’s head was reeling and he was sure this wasn’t from the concussion. He flinched away which seemed to surprise both of them. 

“Izaya, does it hurt to talk? I didn’t think your vocal cords were damaged but I can check again…” Shinra’s expression grew more serious.

“The flea is a fucking liar, he’s jus-!” Shizuo started to shout which wasn’t helping Izaya’s headache, making him flinch again.

“Shizuo. If you want me to treat him, you’re going to leave or don’t distract me.” Shinra’s voice was stern enough to make the blond bartender named Shizuo growl and take a step back, leaning against the wall. 

Izaya couldn’t help but stare at him. He didn’t even realize his own sexual orientation leaned towards gay until he met this man just now. How the hell did he look so good in something so simple as a classic barten-

“Izaya, look at me. I need you to focus.”

Izaya blinked as Shinra’s face came into view. He sighed and nodded. 

“You pulled your phone out. Can you say something?”   


Izaya shook his head.

“Can you make any sound?”

….That would be considered using sound to communicate… so Izaya shook his head again. 

Shinra thought about it. “Hmmm… is it because it hurts to make noise?”

Izaya nodded.

“You goddamn liar, I just heard you-!”

“Shizuo!” Shinra hushed him again and Izaya turned to face the angry man. He was almost like an untamable beast. An absolutely amazing and gorgeous beast, like a king of lions. 

“Okay, I will examine your throat a bit later. Where else does it hurt?”

Izaya pointed at his head. Everywhere else seemed fine. He wondered if the witch’s curse or spell, whatever one would call it, was working. Not many could survive a vending machine thrown at their face after all. 

“Uh-huh, okay. Got it.” Shinra was scribbling something down on his notepad as Izaya peeked over at the handsome man. Why was he so angry? Technically, it was that blond’s fault that he got hurt right? Wait, the bartender had thrown the vending machine in anger at him before he met him so … did he do something really cruel to him? Why couldn’t he remember this man? Surely he would remember him, especially someone with such amazing powers, if not his good looks.

Confused, Izaya typed again a message on his phone like Celty would and showed it to Shinra. Shinra paused from writing to read it again quietly. 

Shinra then looked up even more confused. “You’re asking, how I know Shizuo?”

Izaya nodded grimly. 

“But Izaya, I introduced you to him… in high school. We went to the same elementary school together, do you not remember?” 

Izaya frowned. When did that happen? It must have been a passing conversation because Izaya had no memory of it. He shook his head, no.

“Why you fucking-!” The blond bartender stomped over and before Shinra could stop him, Shizuo grabbed Izaya by the collar of his shirt and lifted him up high in the air. “You goddamn liar! I’m going to punch you until you remember my face, you damn flea!”

Izaya’s eyes widened as the blond hissed at him with a fist ready to strike. W-what the hell did he do to make this man so angry?! He flinched again and covered himself, knowing the blow would hurt… and knowing that the blow would be most likely ‘fatal’ for most… meaning it would hurt like fucking hell. He couldn’t help himself as his body trembled, bracing himself for the impact. 

But as he waited anxiously, the blow didn’t come. He peeked and saw Shizuo’s expression of anguish, which confused him. W-why did he look so… hurt?

The blond dropped Izaya unceremoniously onto the bed with a plop. Izaya looked up surprised. W-what had made him change his mind? Why did he look heartbroken? 

Before Izaya could react, Shinra was already between them. “Shizuo, you need to leave now. I’ll deal with you later, but right now, I think… Izaya needs...”

“Yeah, I get it. I don’t think he’s acting normal either.” 

With that, the man in bartender suit left the room. 

Shinra turned to face Izaya with a look he hadn’t seen in a while. 

“Now then, Izaya. I need you to tell me the truth. What’s going on, and if this is another one of your new pranks, it’s not very funny. Especially if you’re going to ruin my lovely nest with Celty again.”

And for once, Izaya had no clue why Shinra was so angry. 

After an intense hour, Izaya had a splitting headache. Shinra had taken several more tests to make sure he was alright, all the while grilling him to make sure he wasn’t ‘pranking’ on them with false amnesia. Izaya had to explain that no, he seriously wasn’t here to destroy his ‘love nest’ with Celty, he really had no idea who that blond guy was. They were apparently enemies since high school but no matter how hard Izaya tried, he couldn’t remember the man named Heiwajima Shizuo. 

Besides, how could he ever forget his face if it made his heart pound and his hands sweat by just his looks alone. Izaya had never fallen so hard for someone before, it was ridiculously unreal. Not that Izaya planned to divulge that information to Shinra. 

“Selective memory loss isn’t super rare but it is unusual.” Shinra frowned as he tapped on his notepad. “Are you sure it hurts to use your voice? I really don’t see anything wrong with you there… granted, you might have to go to the hospital for a more thorough exam.”

Izaya sighed and lied back on the bed. He didn’t care anymore. Fine, the concussion from the vending machine may have given him selective amnesia but he had a lot to do back home. Did this mean that he could be physically alive forever, but he could mentally deteriorate? He hadn’t realized that could be a problem. If mental illness was a factor, then dementia at age 100 wasn’t true immortality. He wondered if he should go back to the witch and demand a refund but he was pretty sure that wasn’t how this worked. 

Still, Izaya planned to make the most out of this. 

Shinra sighed as he told Izaya to get some rest and stepped outside. Izaya leaned back down and closed his eyes. He could still hear bits and pieces of the conversation as he heard a loud booming voice shouting, “The hell he is! He has to be lying!”

Why was he still there? Izaya didn’t get it but if this man really hated him… why was he…?

Maybe he felt guilty and partly responsible for hitting him with a vending machine? For a guy who was a bit rough around the edges, he was rather kind. Izaya giggled to himself. 

For now, he’d let sleep take over. He felt too exhausted to do much else. 

  
  
  



	3. Chapter 3

After a good night’s sleep, Shinra gave him another check up and told him he could go home. Shinra did advise him to go to the hospital but Izaya didn’t plan to do so. They both knew that Shinra knew Izaya would ignore him but he said it anyway, such was how their friendship worked.

Izaya had so much to do. Immortality! He had finally gained it, with a price and some baggage but still. It was one step toward being a god, a big step. He wondered if the vending machine had crushed his head and then it reformed itself. He wondered if he needed to do another test to make sure that he really was immortal, but he certainly remembered that sickening feeling when he tried to talk. It was as if the demons from hell were about to drag his soul down below, grabbing him with thousands of invisible hands. 

The encounter at the fortune teller’s place may have felt like a dream, but that overwhelming feeling of darkness was most definitely not his imagination. Izaya shivered as he remembered it again.

He would have to figure out ways to test his immortality for sure. As for his eternal youth, well there weren’t many ways to test that but wait it out. After all, the cost for that was…

...

Izaya frowned. What was the cost again? 

Izaya squinted and kept thinking. Then he started to panic a bit. He couldn’t remember the price for his eternal youth. What if it was similar to a condition like not speaking? Shit, what if he accidentally broke the deal because he couldn’t remember?!

Izaya groaned as he swirled in his swivel chair. This was bad. Did that vending machine really give him this much amnesia? This was-

*SMACK*

The informant winced as he rubbed his head and looked up at his pissed off secretary. 

“You’ve been gone all day and now you’re slacking off. Are you going to go over those files or not? The yakuza demanded the information yesterday. I’d rather not have my head on a platter because of your laziness.”

Izaya picked up the paperwork. He seriously had no time for this. He needed to work on his next plan to make sure his immortality would never be threatened. For example, he needed to test how he ‘healed’ and perhaps have his vocal cords removed permanently. 

He dropped the paper back on the desk. His assistant crossed her arms together and was about to start another one-sided shouting match when Izaya quickly typed on his keyboard and turned the monitor toward her.

[I’ll take care of it. You can go home for the day, Namie-san.]

“...With pay?” Namie arched her eyebrows.

Izaya nodded. And like the wind, she packed her bags and left, checking her wrist watch for the time so she could see if she could stalk her little brother before heading home. Izaya smiled to himself as he watched her leave. She was so predictable in that regard, it was cute. 

Now then, the informant stretched and yawned as he swirled around his chair. He hopped out and stared down at the beautiful landscape before him. He truly felt like a god like this. 

He hummed to himself happily as he first started to design his grand plan, making a checklist of things to do. He needed to do a ‘safer’ test on his immortality. He also needed to test how fast he healed and exactly how much he healed which would lead to safely removing his vocal cords.  If that failed, he would make several countermeasures to make sure he could still defeat fate, starting with building a large caged tank. After that, he had to make sure that he could forge a new false identity every few decades and move his money so he wouldn’t cause suspicion if his eternal youth truly worked. It was unfortunate that he would have to move away from his beloved Ikebukuro but he would return often enough, he was certain. And he would have to slowly disconnect his contacts one by one…

Well, he didn't mind that. The only person whom he had constant contact with was Shinra and he was obsessed with that dullahan. Shinra wouldn’t miss him much and surely Izaya wouldn’t either.

This was, after all, the first step to being a god.

Once he typed a rather long list of things to do, he was feeling good enough to tackle the overdue work as well. Once he made his last reply to one of the more demanding emails from Shiki, Izaya stretched and checked the time. It was past 6:00 p.m. and he was rather hungry. Even if he could live forever, it wasn’t pleasant being hungry so he grabbed his coat to head out to Russia Sushi. 

  
  


* * *

 

  
  


Shizuo was rubbing his temple when Tom suggested that they stop for the night. The blond debt collector was in an irritated mood, more than usual and both Tom and Vorona sensed it. Shizuo snapped easily and was more prone to rage. Tom even suggested they have a drink to wind down for the night but Shizuo shook his head. He should just go home and sleep. He was still pissed off with Izaya and more than anything, he was angry at himself for hurting himself, even if it was just the flea. 

Goddammit, why the hell did the flea not dodge?!  _ He always dodged _ ! He always had a freaking third eye! Okay, a few times Shizuo was able to land in a good shot but nothing large and heavy like a vending machine!

Shizuo felt a cold shudder as he remembered it landing on the flea’s face. He felt his heart drop as the blood splattered on the cement floor like some murder scene, the ooze of red spilling into the zigzag edges. The debt collector didn’t want to lift the vending machine and see what was under it; to see if a human’s head could crack like an egg. It was like a nightmare coming true and it took an immense amount of courage for Shizuo to throw the vending machine out of the way to check on Izaya. He would have puked had Izaya’s head looked like a scrambled egg mush but luckily he was intact, just a bit of blood on his forehead, although a lot was spilling from the back of his head. 

The image had burned into his mind and Shizuo couldn’t shake it off. He knew that it was almost a miracle that Izaya was alive with minor injury… A minor injury being just a small concussion and amnesia most likely. Okay, maybe it wasn’t quite ‘minor’ but it wasn’t death!  Shizuo grumbled at that. Amnesia my ass, Izaya was probably lying. There was no way Izaya was telling the truth!

And his throat hurting?! Nothing even touched him there! At least, Shizuo didn’t see any bruises or cuts or nuthin’ like that.

Feeling a bit hungry, Shizuo decided to pick up dinner before heading home; he didn’t feel like cooking instant noodles. And while he was at it, he didn’t feel like buying microwaveable meals either so instead he headed inside Russia Sushi for a quick pick-up. 

“....W-w-w-WHAT ARE YOU DOING HERE?!?!?!?!!” Shizuo immediately shouted as he stepped inside to see the exact same flea happily munching away his sushi at a table not far from the chef. “I thought you were supposed to be at the HOSPITAL?!”

Izaya turned and jumped in his seat, as if spooked. What the hell?! Izaya never made that kind of expression! He should be glaring and smirking like some snake or eel or combination of a disgusting chimera weasel while waving his toothpick of a knife!!

Shizuo stomped over and was about to reflexively throw him out when a rather large black Russian got in between them.

“Now, now, Shi-Zu-Oh! No fighting, fighting no good! You fight because hungry.” Simon picked up Shizuo like how a mother cat would to a feisty kitten and had him sit on the exact same table as Izaya, who stared at him petrified. 

“The hell Simon, I’m here for a pick up! Not to dine in!” Shizuo got up angrily. Then he glared at Izaya to add, “I thought you’d be in the hospital. Guess your _ injuries _ weren’t all that bad huh you lying piece of shit.”

To add insult to Shizuo’s irritation, Izaya’s eyes widened and grew glassy, his face turning pale and chagrin. What. The. Fucking. Hell. If this was a further addition to the amnesia prank, it was not funny!

“Sit, sit! Hungry Shi-Zu-Oh, cranky Shi-Zu-Oh. No breaking, more eating.” Simon pushed down on Shizuo’s back, forcing him to sit across from the nerve wrecked informant. For fuck’s sake, why the hell was the flea trembling like the last autumn leaf on a tree?!

Shizuo rolled his eyes, ignoring that Izaya was there as he took the menu. Well, there was really no need because Simon already placed a platter in front of his face.

“I didn’t order yet.” Shizuo growled. 

“But Dennis know your favorite! Here is egg, egg, and egg!” Simon looked rather pleased with the three rows of tamago sushi platter. 

“This one has something mushy on top.” Shizuo frowned at one row.

“That is cheese! Very good, protein for good bones for growing boys!” Simon pat him on the shoulder and walked away before Shizuo could complain more. The blond sighed in defeat as he lowered the menu. Truth be told, it was what he would order anyway, minus the cheese egg sushi.

He heard a giggle and looked up to catch Izaya laughing at him before he stopped. 

“What’s so funny? You think it’s funny that I have a childish taste, is that it?!” Shizuo glared already knowing what Izaya would say. Fucking hell, what was wrong with enjoying some tamago sushi anyway, it tasted good so who cared if it was normally for children?!

“…” Izaya shook his head. He quickly pulled out his phone and began to type. This again? This joke was going on too long and it was getting very tedious. 

“You can stop pretending you’re mute, I didn’t see any bruises on your neck you know.” Shizuo looked extremely displeased which made Izaya pause from typing for a second. The flea looked a bit flustered as if he wasn’t sure if he should show him what he wrote or not.

“Goddammit, give me that!” Shizuo grabbed the phone to read it, feeling frustrated every time Izaya acted like some goddamn timid rabbit. It read, [No, I just thought it was cute. I’m happy to know what your favorite food i] and it stopped there. 

“Gross. What the hell, flea. This is seriously getting old.” Shizuo frowned as he tossed the phone back. Izaya caught it after a fumble. 

...That was weird. Izaya could always catch anything with one hand confidently, and fully equipped with some witty banter to boot. What was going on here? 

Shizuo glanced down at Izaya’s meal. It was the usual kind, the ootoro set that he always got. Classy and expensive as he put it back then. Slimy, was what Shizuo had thought.

So that hadn’t changed but… something else had. Maybe Izaya did get hit way harder than Shizuo had thought? Granted, getting brained by a vending machine was definitely not normal. 

Okay, maybe Shizuo could give him a break just this once. He let out a long sigh and started to eat his food, one tamago sushi at a time, trying to avoid looking at Izaya’s direction.

After a fourth or so sushi, Shizuo noticed that Izaya wasn’t eating. In fact he wasn’t doing anything. Feeling his anger rising yet again, the debt collector looked up. “What is it now?!”

Izaya blinked at him confused at the question. Shizuo gritted his teeth.

“Why aren’t you eating? What, are you going to say you can’t eat with me because you don’t eat on the same table with beasts or something again?” 

The last few words certainly made a dent because Shizuo saw Izaya’s expression change from nervousness to stricken white. He quickly grabbed a sushi to eat, chewing away rapidly. 

Izaya never acted like a scared rabbit for this long, even for one of his longer pranks. It was seriously making Shizuo angrier and angrier. Did Izaya think he was that stupid that he could get away with doing this for two days straight? Was he in for a long game? 

“Fuck it, I can’t.” Shizuo got up. He slammed a few bills on the table and left the shop. Looking at Izaya’s face irritated him. Seeing those emotions on that face made him more vexed than seeing Izaya smirk and sneer. What the hell, Shizuo didn’t even realize he didn’t like seeing Izaya like that until now, it was as if the damn flea had found a new weakness in him and he didn’t like it. What made it worse was, Izaya always had too much pride to show that kind of emotion to him even for a joke and yet he must have decided it was worth it to get in a few jabs at Shizuo. 

Shizuo was only one street away when he heard the sound of footsteps running and a hand grabbing his arm. The blond turned to see the flea, huffing as he stopped him. Then he started to type something in his phone and showed it to him. It read, [I know I must have done something horrible to you in the past since Shinra had said so. I don’t remember it but I’m really sorry. Is there any way you’ll forgive me?]

“Forgive you?” Shizuo growled as he finished reading it. Involuntarily, he could feel his fist closing tightly enough to draw blood. Forgive him? Forgive this pest that had ruined his life since they had entered high school together? Forgive this little worm that had called him monster and made sure he turned into the being he hated the most every day as long as he could?!

Absolutely never! 

“Yeah, I’ll forgive you.” Shizuo’s voice grew low, his teeth baring into a forced smile. “I’ll forgive you if you get the fuck out of my face and never show up in Ikebukuro again. Got it?!”

Shizuo watched as the flea looked up at him as if his world had crashed down. Why? Why the hell did he care so much now? His lips trembling, it looked as if he was about to break the stupid prank and talk but no. The damn flea took the phone back and started to type something else. 

The blond was patient enough to wait for a response, although his lungs itched for a puff of cigarette instead of breathing the same air as the flea. He could see that Izaya mistyped a few times and had to go back and rewrite it. Once, a hand came up to his face to wipe a tear.

…A tear?

Confused, Shizuo tried to look at Izaya’s face instead of the jittering hands typing nervously on the phone but before the blond could, the flea thrust the phone to his face. 

[Alright, I won’t come to Ikebukuro again. Will you forgive me then?]

Shizuo read it carefully and then looked over at Izaya. He was still shaking but he couldn’t tell from what emotion. Was it anger? He looked determined, his eyes still glossy and cheeks pale. 

It made the debt collector even more irritated. 

Still, Shizuo nodded in reply, “Yeah, sure. Whatever, flea.”

Izaya hung his head as he dropped the arm that held his phone. Then he pulled up his hoodie and walked in the direction of Shinjuku. 

Shizuo shrugged, not thinking much of it, knowing the goddamn flea would be back the next day to ‘surprise’ him for being a gullible idiot. Well, Shizuo had been through enough to know better than to trust any of Izaya’s promises now. He headed to a local convenience store for a quick instant noodle to tie him over for the night before heading home. 

  
  



	4. Chapter 4

Several months had passed. In fact it had been three months and four days since the incident at Russia Sushi. 

Izaya had his face on the table and lied there as if his soul had been drained. He then got up to touch the cell phone that Shizuo had touched. He had kissed the handle area at least a dozen times, if not more. Remembering the way Shizuo’s face was so, so very close to him a few times made his heart throb faster than it had ever while doing parkour and then…

“I’ll forgive you if you get the fuck out of my face and never show up in Ikebukuro again.”

His words came echoing back and Izaya flopped back onto his desk again. He bashed his head against the hard surface wondering why the fuck he felt like some high school girl in love and if this was the witch’s ‘payment’ for eternal youth. It sure as fuck was working well, a few times he even got worried that he would outlive Shizuo and he would eventually watch as the beautiful blond would live a life without him, get married to some homely girl, have a family and then die… It tore Izaya’s heart to shreds just thinking about it. But luckily, he had a deep thoughtful conversation with himself that no matter how much he may love this man, he better not commit suicide once Shizuo didn’t accept him or… died of old age. He better not anyway. 

He was moping on his desk when Namie sighed and came up to him to smack some sense into his head. 

“If you want to see him that much, go see him. That never stopped you before.” Namie rolled her eyes. She found her boss to be irritating sure, but this was beyond ridiculous. She wasn’t sure if she would rather babysit a whiny crybaby or a creepy asshole. His boss acted as if he had never been lovestruck before and puppy love or not, both versions of him were annoying, so she better get a raise this month.

Now that she thought about it, maybe his boss had never fallen in love before. It was a thought that struck her as odd for a moment before she dismissed it. There was no point in dwelling on anything but her own love for Seiji, everyone else’s love was not worth her spare thoughts.

Izaya typed on the keyboard slowly with one index finger and then turned the monitor toward Namie, not lifting his head from the desk. It read, [I don’t remember. I don’t remember chasing him or anything you guys tell me. I even found a few video clips online of us chasing and fighting each other but I don’t remember anything!!!!111111]  However, the cold hearted ice queen didn’t even bother to turn to read.

Izaya sighed. He did do a thorough research after he came back. They even went to the same school together! Hell, they were in the same class! Then Izaya had done pretty nasty things to get him in trouble, forced him to lose his job several times and then even landed him in jail.

No wonder the hot stud hated his guts. And what the hell, why did he not remember him at all?!?!?!

Izaya whimpered sadly, wanting to cry. It physically hurt to think about him. Why the hell did his past self do all that?! Why did he do that to him so that now… everything was ruined!!!

The informant moped some more and then found himself giggling like an insane patient one moment as he remembered that Shizuo had touched his phone or carried him back to Shinra or the moment when Izaya was brave enough to even grab his arm… and then moped some more when he remembered the same man wanted him dead. Then he was giggling again like a sleep-deprived maniac when he remembered that he used to call him ‘Shizu-chan’ in the past and man, what a freaking cute nickname that was! 

“Oh for Christ’s sake.” Namie grabbed the half giggling, half crying baby and dragged him across the room. “Go get some coffee or something to clear your head. You’ve been stuck in here like some loser hikikomori. By the way, get me a large caramel macchiato with extra cream while you’re at it. Now get out!” With that, his assistant tossed him outside along with his coat and wallet like a street rat.

Izaya lied there on the floor for a few seconds, sighing before picking himself up slowly. ‘A large caramel macchiato with extra cream… a large caramel macchiato with extra cream… a large caramel...’ He mentally repeated to himself as he headed towards the nearest cafe. 

  
  


* * *

 

  
  


Heiwajima Shizuo was in a great mood today. Even Tom complimented him for doing such a great job this entire week, if not the entire month. Each of their jobs had been rather successful and they rarely had to use force. In fact, Shizuo was patient enough to even let the debtors rant a bit or whine and complain, sometimes straight out lie. Tom was very impressed when one man spat at Shizuo’s face and the blond didn’t punch him through the window right then and there. He gave him full three seconds before he sent him through the other side of the wall. 

“You’re on a row lately, has something good happened? Maybe something to do with Kasuka landing that movie role in America?” Tom congratulated Shizuo as he pat him on the back. Vorona too nodded enthusiastically. 

“Nah, nothing like that, although I am happy for him.” Shizuo smiled. “I don’t know, lately everything’s been feeling great and moving smoothly.” Honestly, Shizuo had no idea why but everything had been lining up perfectly in his life. It was peaceful and quiet the way he liked it. Sure, his job required some extra physical force now and then, but nothing that was too out of the ordinary. 

“Anyways, keep up the great work. Especially since for this one, we have to go outside of Ikebukuro. It’s just one stop over to Shinjuku but it should be fairly quick.” Tom nodded as they stepped off the Shinjuku station. Vorona already had the map out. 

“Ah, before we go, can I stop at this cafe for a bit?” Shizuo looked up at the sign. He rarely got to go to Shinjuku even if it wasn’t far since it was still out of the way, but one of the best coffee cafes was by the station. Granted, he didn’t like coffee, but they did sell other drinks which he got cravings for every once in a while.

Shizuo happily entered the store in a good mood which instantly turned sour due to a certain stink. He sniffed the air, confused. Why did it… stink like stale, moldy carpet here? No, it smelled slightly sharper than that. More like some cheese gone bad or…

Then the debt collector heard murmuring up at the front of the line. And someone was holding up the line as the register lady looked confused. 

Shizuo wouldn’t have cared and did not mind the wait, however being a head taller than most Japanese was a blessing and a curse. He could clearly see a raven haired man with a distinctive black hoodie fur coat who was checking his pockets in panic.

“...The flea is here… no wonder it reeked.” Shizuo grumbled. Damn and he was having a great day. A great week! Or however long he hadn’t seen the asshole. 

With a sigh, Shizuo walked to the front to check on him. 

“I’m so sorry, I don’t quite understand.” The girl at the register was saying. The flea was re-checking all his pockets and then staring back at the girl helplessly. She was trying to be helpful as she held up the menu to him. “You wanted the caramel macchiato, yes?” She asked again, pointing at the specific item in question.

Izaya nodded but looked troubled as he tried to make a pencil scribbling motion.

“I’m so sorry, but we don’t have a pen and paper here, umm… excuse me, does anyone have-oh!” The girl looked up startled as Shizuo towered over them. He handed Izaya his cell phone. 

“Here, you need to tell her something, right?” 

Izaya looked up in shock at him as he took the phone from his hand with a small nod. Then he quickly typed something and flashed it toward her.

“Oh, you wanted extra cream! I see, I’m so sorry I did not understand before. Alright, caramel macchiato with extra cream coming right up.” 

With that, Shizuo was about to return to the back of the line when Izaya grabbed his sleeves and tugged. Then he typed something to the cash register lady.

“Oh, you want to buy him a drink too? How nice of you.” She smiled. 

However, Shizuo frowned. “No need for that flea. I don’t want your dirty money.”

Again Shizuo noticed the way Izaya flinched and looked hurt when he said those words. He didn’t like that.

“Fine, get me something. I want a strawberry milkshake.” Shizuo gave up and ordered. The lady took down the order and Shizuo watched as Izaya paid with his credit card, although he looked… hmm… Shizuo couldn’t figure out what Izaya’s face was telling him. Was he upset? Angry? Frustrated? Scared? His fingers were trembling as he paid and his eyes downcast.

Whatever, if his feelings got hurt because of what he said, not his fault since it was all true anyway. They both knew that Izaya didn’t have an honest job. 

Crap, now he had to wait for his drink next to Izaya! Shizuo groaned inwardly. When Izaya came to stand next to him, Shizuo felt even more keenly how awkward this was. When Izaya handed Shizuo back the phone, that was when he noticed the white bandages around the flea’s throat.

“So you’re faking it this long?” Shizuo’s mouth itched for smoke again. This damn flea’s lies always made him want something to burn down that disgust in his lungs. 

Izaya looked up at him questioningly. Shizuo rolled his eyes before pointing at Izaya’s throat.

“That. What is that?”

‘…” Izaya touched his throat. When Shizuo handed back the phone, Izaya typed, [I had a surgery.]

“Uh huh, so you’re telling me I gave you amnesia and destroyed your throat too? Great, just don’t send me your hospital bills. I’m barely paying my rent.” Well, that wasn’t true. Shizuo hadn’t destroyed any properties or hurt anyone badly in a while so he’d been doing rather well lately. He sat down on a table after Izaya gave him back his phone. It frustrated him when Izaya seemed indecisive as to come sit with him or stand by the bar to pick up the drinks.

“Sit, if you want to.” Shizuo gestured toward the empty seat across from him. Izaya gratefully sat, his hands balled up around his pants. 

Shizuo tapped his foot impatiently in silence. Normally he loved the silence but silence with Izaya felt unnatural. 

“Say something.” Shizuo ordered in exasperation, turning to face the quiet man. Izaya looked up with bright eyes but then his fingers tried to make certain motions.

“Oh right, here.” Shizuo again gave up his phone so Izaya could type something to him. He was still hoping that Izaya would give up and accidentally slip and speak but no. He was keeping up this tirade for a bit longer it seemed. 

[How have you been? ]

Shizuo snorted and replied, “I was fine until I saw your face today.” 

Izaya seemed very flustered by that comment and quickly typed, [I know you told me not to see you, but I was hoping an accidental run-in was okay? I haven’t been to Ikebukuro since.]

Shizuo frowned at that. When did...oh. Did he say that last time? It would be something he would say, but he didn’t particularly care about the flea to remember every little conversation they had. Most of the time, Shizuo was usually too angry to remember much of their chance meetings anyway.

“Well, keep staying out of it then.” Shizuo muttered. 

Shizuo watched as Izaya seemed to hesitate before writing his next message. After several moments of deliberation, the flea finally showed him the phone screen.

[Have you forgiven me?]

“Forgiven you?” Shizuo looked up at him in half disgust and half confusion. What the hell was this guy planning? “Why the hell would I forgive you?”

Panicked, Izaya quickly typed, [But you said you’d forgive me if I never showed up again.]

“Yeah, well.” Shizuo frowned. He didn’t think Izaya was being serious. He looked over at the flea once more. His face looked earnest, if Izaya could ever look the part. To Shizuo, Izaya always had that perpetual twisted shit-eating grin that he hated. He knew how to deal with snide and arrogant bastard Izaya but he had no idea how to deal with this timid Izaya. It didn’t look like he was acting, but the damn flea was a good actor. Granted, normally jokes didn’t run this long…. No, it had happened a few times. Like the time when Izaya sent gangs after gangs on him for more than a year. Shizuo couldn’t figure it out, which was right? Was Izaya still faking this or was this… real? Could Izaya actually have an amnesia from a concussion for this long? And somehow he had to have a throat surgery and couldn’t speak? It still felt highly improbable, but then again Shizuo saw that heavy object fall on the man’s face and the pool of blood leaking out. 

He shuddered at the memory. He pushed it away from his mind. 

“Okay, sorry. I didn’t actually think very hard on it.” Shizuo admitted. “I don’t think I can forgive you, even if I never see you again.” Although the weeks that he hadn’t seen Izaya were so blissful, he had totally forgotten about him. It was also very nice not looking behind his back and worrying about the damn flea showing up. Now it looked as if those peaceful times were gone.

Shizuo looked up after giving it a thought to see another expression that irritated him. Izaya looked as if he was going to cry. Why the hell was he… ugh…!

Izaya quickly typed something, deleted it, retyped it, deleted and retyped it again. When he showed it to Shizuo, it read, [Is there anything I can do to atone? If you can’t forgive me, then maybe there’s something you’ll accept?]

Shizuo thought about it. Was there anything? If Izaya was not lying and he really wanted forgiveness, well…

“Number 77, your order is ready.” 

Shizuo and Izaya turned when they heard their order being called. The debt collector got up to pick up his drink. “Sorry flea, but I gotta go. I’m in the middle of work so…”

Izaya quickly typed, [I can wait for you? I want to hear your answer. I know it’s rude to insist but...]

Shizuo sighed. He couldn’t tell whether to trust him or not. “Fine, I’ll see you here after work.”

Izaya nodded eagerly before he gave back Shizuo’s phone. The blond pocketed it and headed out to catch up with Tom and Vorona, feeling weirded out by Izaya for more than one reason. 

  
  
  
  
  
  
  



	5. Chapter 5

Namie arched her eyebrows as her boss came back with little skips and hops to his steps. 

“Well you look perky. Was it the caffeine or did someone throw another vending machine at your head?” She asked coldly as she took her coffee cup from her boss’ hand. He looked back rather surprised.

“Oh so you ran all the way to Ikebukuro to get my coffee? I’m impressed it’s not cold.” She sipped it, assuming that her boss had gone all the way to Ikebukuro to check on his favorite monster. Izaya flailed his hands and arms in response before going back to his desk to grab a phone to type. 

Ever since that incident three months ago, Izaya had changed. Not just the fact that he had fallen in love quite deeply with his worst enemy, but the way he acted or dealt with things were different. 

He was usually a fast-paced man, getting bored so easily with things that he would impatiently speed up things to make it more interesting even if it was detrimental. Now he took his time doing his research or his job to the point Namie wondered if he was being lazy or if that vending machine actually hit his head so hard that his personality shifted. 

Other than moping around or staring at the wall and sighing as he thought of a certain disgusting blond debt collector, her boss also started to deal with less and less dangerous jobs. Jobs that he had once thought was fun. He also stopped going into all his sixty or so chat rooms where he scandalized old bureaucrats all the way down to suicidal high school girls, as if ruining their lives was no longer interesting. 

Instead, he had started building something rather large in another apartment. Something like a large aquarium to fit a shark. Also, he was moving his money around and buying several properties all across Japan and all over the world as if he planned to go in hiding. 

Not that it mattered, since less dangerous job and less work was fine by Namie, but she was still keeping a tight check on whatever Izaya was planning on next since her neck was always on the line when it came to this kind of business. 

One other thing that really confused Namie was the fact that Izaya seemed less guarded. He actually expressed emotions more through his face, and there was a strange sense of calm and peace about him when he wasn’t in turmoil and anguish over the debt collector.  He took his time, more than usual, to plan things out. The most pressing matters with the yakuza business no longer interested him, sometimes he outright ignored them or put them to the side as backburners. The part that confused Namie the most was that Izaya’s focus had shifted away from his love for ‘people watching’ but instead his obsession had moved to something else.

‘It’s as if he found something else worth his time.’ Namie thought to herself as she sipped her warm coffee. 

Izaya found his cellphone and rushed back to show what he typed but Namie turned around and shrugged it off. “I honestly don’t care where you got my coffee or if you ran into Heiwajima, but if you’re paying me, I got work to do. I shouldn’t have to babysit your lovelife you know.”

Izaya’s shoulders slumped at the reply and again Namie wondered if this was what happened to people who couldn’t speak since she could easily read that headless dullahan’s body language as well. She wondered if there were scientific records on this, but she was pretty sure it wasn’t due to the fact that he just lost the ability to talk being the factor but something else. Something else had innately changed Orihara Izaya’s personality and she wasn’t sure what and if she should care in case it threatened her life.

For now, she just found it to be a pest. 

However, Izaya tugged on her arm and held up the phone again so Namie turned to read it. 

[I have to go back to the coffee shop, I’m not sure when I’ll be back so you’re dismissed.]

Oh, well that was a different story. 

Namie happily packed up her bags to leave. She had lost count of how many times Izaya had told her she could leave work early by now. It was at least twice a week, if not more, but that was fine. Her pay didn’t decrease after all. 

‘I wonder if I could catch Seiji-kun for dinner,’ Namie hummed to herself happily. And hopefully somehow throw that wench into a ditch with her legs cut off.

  
  


* * *

 

  
  


“Ah, it’s starting to rain.” Tom looked up as something fell on his nose. Vorona too held her hand out and felt a raindrop. “Yes. I believe it is raining.”

“Hmm, it’s about time we should head back anyway.” Tom nodded as he held the suitcase with the cash. “Good work, we did do a pretty good job with very little persuasion.” The dreadlock haired man looked rather pleased with their haul for the day. “I would offer to go drinking but I take it you guys would rather go home than hang out with an old man like me.” Tom joked lightly. 

“Ah, sorry… I forgot my umbrella,” Shizuo apologized, not really wanting to say Tom was an old man but he did want to go home and rest instead of getting caught in the rain or buying a new umbrella. 

“No, no that’s okay! We should all get some good night sleep anyway,” Tom chuckled as they parted ways.

Once he arrived home, took off his shoes and changed into his pajamas, he thought, ‘I feel like I forgot something…’ Then he remembered. 

“Oh, I forgot to shower.” 

As he started to boil the water to make cup noodles and hop into the shower, he checked the clock. It was only 8:45pm, maybe he could catch something on T.V. to watch before sleeping for the day. 

After dinner and a quick warm shower, he looked outside the dark window with pouring rain. Strange, he still had this weird feeling that he forgot something. 

He was brushing his teeth when it finally hit him.

He forgot the flea. 

Shizuo drooled the spit and toothpaste from his mouth as he felt his life draining out of him. Ah, dammit. He tended to be an ‘out of sight, out of mind’ guy and all but he completely forgot to meet up with Izaya right after work. Granted, there was a lot going on and they were only at Shinjuku to collect something from one man out of five clients so they had gone back to Ikebukuro… then he had to punch through a wall once to catch one of the runaways and…

There was no real excuse. Shizuo forgot. 

He quickly rinsed his mouth and checked the clock. It was just a little after 10. He knew that the cafe closed at 9pm… Izaya should be home now.

Just then, lightning struck and thunder boomed. It started raining around… 7pm or so when Tom decided to call it a day. 

….

Izaya should have gone home, he really didn’t need to check on him, Shizuo thought to himself. Yes, there was zero chance of Izaya waiting for him still outside in the rain. He probably had an umbrella anyway right? 

The blond growled to himself as he took off his pajamas and dressed into his street clothes, grumbling the entire time. He shouldn’t have to do this. He didn’t have to get his coat on, grab his umbrella and go outside when it was almost time for bed! He had a full day of work tomorrow and so did that flea, right? Right?!

Shizuo sighed as he rushed outside. He ran to the train station and tapped his wet foot impatiently. The cafe wasn’t too far, it was just annoyingly out of the way and a complete waste of his time. 

By the time he arrived, it was 10:45pm. Surely Izaya wasn’t there. It was a dimly lit street and with the pouring rain, Shizuo didn’t really see much. Still, he turned the corner and stared at the street to make sure and….

…

Shizuo groaned as he saw someone with an umbrella waiting by the door of a dark store that was closed.

The blond rushed over, Izaya’s long black coat almost blending with the wall so that he wasn’t as noticeable in the dark with his black umbrella. Why the hell did he like the color black so much?!  

“Hey, Izaya. Izaya!” Shizuo quickly rushed over and tapped on Izaya’s shoulder. He was wet, the wind must have blown more rain on him despite the umbrella over his head. “Are you an idiot?! How long were you waiting out here anyway?! Hell, why didn’t you just go home?!”

Izaya looked up at him, a bit surprised while shivering from the cold. And to Shizuo’s bafflement, he smiled a tired little smile. He then fumbled inside his jacket for a cellphone to reply.

“Forget it, I’m taking you home. You’re in no shape for... hey, did you hear me? Come on.” Shizuo tried to tug on Izaya’s shoulder but the informant took one step and toppled over. The blond quickly caught him before he fell flat on the ground. This idiot bastard! 

Shizuo picked him up and carried him in his arms while trying to balance the umbrellas. Shizuo folded Izaya’s umbrella while he kept his between his arm and his side. Izaya felt lighter than Shizuo imagined him to be, and the debt collector didn’t like that for some reason. 

“Stupid flea! I’m going to punch you as soon as you wake up!” Shizuo grumbled as he headed toward Izaya’s building since it was closer. 

“Shinra, hey, yeah it’s me. Stupid flea is sick so I want you to come over. No, not my place! Izaya’s! What, why am I here? I’m not there yet, I’m taking him there. No, no. I didn’t throw a fucking vending machine to his face again, he just has a cold I think. Huh? Oh yeah his face is red and his forehead is hot so probably a fever. What did I do? Why is it always my fault if the damn flea is sick?! No, I… Okay, maybe I did something but,... NO! That’s not what happened.” Shizuo shouted loudly as he struggled to balance a man, an umbrella and a cellphone which probably looked pretty comical to any people watching him.

Shizuo fumbled into Izaya’s pocket to find the key once they reached the building. The damn idiot had so many keys!! Shizuo had to try them one by one to figure out the door unlocked by an electronic keycard. 

“Anyways, get here now, I’m inside Izaya’s building. What? Like I said, he was outside in the rain.” The debt collector struggled to take off his shoes, kicking them off at the entryway. Then he somehow managed to balance Izaya to take off his shoes while closing the umbrella and letting it stand against the door . Izaya’s wet umbrella was tossed near the entrance.

Shizuo finally lowered Izaya to the sofa. Shizuo hadn’t been there often enough to know the layout but he could see the living room-ish area and the desk which probably was Izaya’s workstation. To one corner, he saw what appeared to be an entryway to the kitchen. It was ridiculously spacious and empty looking, to Shizuo.

“What? No! I don’t want to! Why the hell should I have to do that much?!” Shizuo growled. 

Shizuo could hear Shinra sigh on the receiver and reply, “Because I’m currently in the middle of pulling out bullets from this yakuza and he’s glaring at me for being distracted. Look, Shiki no danna will have my ass if I don’t help these men, I have about four more to go and I can’t drop everything and come over if all Izaya has is a cold or at worse, a pneumonia. Just get him into some dry clothes and keep him warm. If he wakes up, have him drink warm tea or make him some rice porridge. I’ll be there in the morning.” Then their mutual friend-doctor hung up.  

Shizuo cursed to himself as he looked back at the unconscious Izaya. With a sigh, he texted to Tom, [Sorry, someone is sick and I have to take care of that person for the night. Might be late to work tomorrow.] 

“What a pain.” The debt collector sighed as he tossed the phone and sat on the sofa next to Izaya. He looked over at that pale face with bright cheeks and he felt slightly guilty. Only ever so slightly because the dumbass should have known to go the fuck home!

Shizuo counted from one to ten to cool down before picking up the wet fleabag. He decided to see what was up the stairs, hopefully a bedroom, else they were gonna have to use the sofa as a makeshift bed.

Luckily, there was indeed a bedroom in one of the top floor’s rooms. Not particularly caring if Izaya was wet, Shizuo laid him on the bed first. Then he sat next to him to take off the wet jacket. It was dripping wet so much that Shizuo decided to take it to the bathroom and tossed it into the bathtub for the moment. 

Then he came back to Izaya lying on the bed. He stood there watching him for few seconds, struggling with his inner turmoil before gathering the will to go ahead and peel off Izaya’s wet shirt. The damn guy was a stickfigure, there wasn’t anything to look at, he shouldn’t really care about stripping his enemy naked right now. 

It took even more will power to unbuckle the belt… and then the pants and the socks. Again he tossed them into the bathtub. When he came back, he could see that the underwear was soaked too and he groaned. Okay, fine… the underwear also had to go. 

Feeling a bit more than revolted, Shizuo hooked two fingers along Izaya’s hips and tugged down the flimsy black briefs. He didn’t look as he tossed a blanket over him and held up the briefs as if it was a disgusting bug before throwing that too over to the bathtub. While there, he grabbed a dry towel hanging on the racks and came back. He first wiped Izaya’s face and then started to pat dry his hair.

That was when Shizuo noticed as his hand slightly brushed against him; Izaya was really burning hot. He used the back of his palm to touch his cheeks and face. His fever must be really high. Shizuo wasn’t sure where the first aid kit would be or a thermometer. Hell, he had no idea how to take care of a sick person. Shizuo rarely got sick and same went for Kasuka. 

What was it that Shinra told him to do? Just keep him warm right? But he was burning hot, was this really a good idea?

Shizuo pulled down the blanket a bit to towel Izaya’s neck dry and then his chest. It wasn’t as if it was weird to see a nude man, but it was the fact that this was  _ Izaya _ . If it was anyone else, he probably wouldn’t have cared. But he hated Izaya’s guts and seeing him so vulnerable like this made him feel more than just a little uncomfortable. 

After drying his chest, Shizuo decided that he refused to go any further. He pulled up the covers when he noticed that Izaya was trembling as if he was cold.

“Stupid flea,” Shizuo muttered as he stared at that unconscious pink face, his lips parted, puffing for air. He brushed away Izaya’s wet bangs. “Next time, just go home.”


	6. Chapter 6

Izaya felt warm as he woke up in stages. Something smelled nice, a musky scent, and he felt like someone was holding him comfortably. The heat was nice but it was starting to get a bit stuffy. 

He tried to kick off the covers but he felt his feet touch something that shouldn’t be there. His bed was king sized, there shouldn’t be anything even if he…

The informant blinked open his eyes. Part of his eyes were covered by a wet towel that slid down his forehead but the other eye saw something that definitely defied all reasons for being next to him.

“...!!!” He yelped a bit as he tried to roll away but realized he could not; Shizuo had one arm slung over him and held him in place as he slept. W-what...what was going on?! Why was he here?! 

Izaya tried to recollect his memories as he pulled himself out of his blanket only to feel the cool chill and looked down.

WHY WAS HE NAKED?!?!?!?!????!!!!!!!!!!!

He quickly crawled back inside and shivered. He was glad that the deal he made allowed him to squeak in surprise. Okay, so he was waiting for him at the restaurant until it closed. Then he waited outside. He had to text Namie and bribe her with a ridiculous amount of money so she could bring an umbrella, just in case that Shizuo had showed up right then and there. He did try to wait underneath the canopy of the entryway of the shop but by the time Namie did come by with an umbrella, he was already pretty wet.

He remembered waiting for what felt like years but he was pretty sure it was maybe just an hour or two. He had checked his phone so much, his battery had died earlier in the cafe so he wasn’t sure what time it was… just that it was after nine when the shop closed.

Izaya figured catching a cold wouldn’t kill him, literally. If the wish was granted, he shouldn’t die from just that so he waited and waited… wondering what he should say. Wondering what he should ask. He had a list in his head but at this point he had forgotten them all.

Because right in front of him was the man of his dreams, sleeping next to him while on top of his covers. 

Izaya wasn’t sure if he should be happy or mortified. 

He stared at the gorgeous sleeping face for a few minutes longer than he should have before it was probably creepy and then started to try to squirm out of the bed again to try to get dressed. He felt weak and he could tell he still felt feverish but he couldn’t, with all good intention, lay there naked in front of Shizuo.

As Izaya tried to pull away, the arm pulled him closer. 

“I wouldn’t do that flea.” 

Izaya almost jumped out of his skin when he heard the dark, rich voice speak behind him. He huddled back into the covers and turned around.

Shizuo had warm brown eyes that he liked but his expression was a frown. 

This was probably the worst time for him to wish that Shizuo would at least smile for him once. 

The blond yawned and stretched, getting up. 

“How’s your fever?” He asked rubbing his eyes. “Shit, what time is it?”

Izaya looked up at him, the blanket covering him up to his chin. He looked around and… he couldn’t find his cell phone. And of course, he didn’t keep a notepad or a pen next to his bed. 

“Ah right. You still can’t talk huh.”

Instead of providing some means of communication, Shizuo leaned over and touched Izaya’s forehead. The informant felt a jolt of invisible electricity from the touch although from the looks of it, Shizuo probably felt nothing.

“Hmm… yeah you’re still too warm.” Shizuo then got up from the bed. “I’ll get you water. Shinra said you need to stay hydrated and keep your forehead cool.” 

And with that, the blond left the room.

Izaya was reeling in his head. Did he imagine it? Was this a dream? Was this some sort of hallucination that the witch did?!?!  And hell, he was still naked, he needed to get out and get dressed, not to mention find his cell phone!

He was half crawling out of his gigantic bed when the door creaked open. Izaya jumped right back into his covers, wrapping his body with the blanket like a gigantic worm in a cocoon for the winter. 

“So it’s only 4a.m., you should go back to sleep.” Shizuo said as he sat on the edge of the bed with a glass of water. Izaya carefully squeezed his hands out between the blankets without them unravelling to grab the cup and gratefully sipped on the water. It was cool and it felt nice. 

Izaya could take a good educated guess as to what had happened. He was trying to figure out how to use his body language to ask him to get a phone for him when Shizuo replied, “Sorry. I totally forgot. It was my bad.” Then he huffed, “You should know better and go home if I don’t show up after that many hours! Or text me or something! Don’t you have my phone number?!”

Izaya blinked. Wait… he had Shizuo’s phone number? He didn’t know that. Why would he have Shizuo’s number? Then again, thinking about it further, of course his past self would have Shizuo’s number, he was an informant right? But at the same time, it wasn’t as if Shizuo was his business partner so… why would he…?

From the look of Izaya’s confused expression, Shizuo must have got the point. The blond sighed heavily. 

“Okay, fine. Perhaps I did hit you over the head and maybe you have lost your memory. Sorry about that too. I really thought you were pranking me.” His eyes narrowed, making Izaya shiver a bit. “Honestly, I still think this is a long on-going prank. But then again, I really,  _ seriously  _ doubted that you’d wait for me outside despite your own health’s detriment, so…” 

Izaya’s eyes widened a bit as Shizuo looked away frustrated, his hand covering part of his chin and lips. Was that a hint of pink on his cheeks? 

“Anyways, I’m sorry flea. I will try not to be late again, that was my fault.”

“...” Never mind being called flea, was Shizuo blushing?! Was he really apologizing to him?! It felt like waiting in the wet and cold rainy night was completely worth it for-

Ah!

Taken aback, Izaya didn’t realize he had dropped the cup of water and it spilled all over his blanket. He quickly tried to grab it and so did Shizuo, their fingers colliding. When Shizuo touched him, Izaya felt yet another jolt of electricity and he quickly pulled away. 

“Crap, sorry! Here… let me get a…” Shizuo grabbed the cup but as Izaya pulled away, the blond leaned forward with his weight on the blanket. Immediately, said blanket started to peel away from Izaya. 

“&*@#^$*(&@^$*(!&#!!!!!” Izaya made a loud gibberish sound as he quickly covered his lower half first, then tried to pull the cover back over his shoulders. 

“...L-let met get a towel.” Shizuo finished, clearly feeling very awkward as he went to the bathroom for a dry towel.

For once in his life, Izaya wanted to die.

Shizuo came back with a towel while Izaya curled inside his wet blanket. He felt the bed sink on one corner as Shizuo sat and felt the patting of the towel on the wet area of his blanket. 

“Okay, flea. I got you some clothes. I didn’t think you’d want me to look in your closet but it’s probably better you wear something.”

Izaya poked his head out and saw Shizuo holding a pair of pants and a grey hoodie, but no underwear. 

Well, asking Shizuo to go through his drawer of underwear would probably be a bit too much. Izaya took it and struggled to put it on while inside the blanket. 

He heard a chuckle and looked up in surprise to catch Shizuo laughing. 

Damn, the man had a gorgeous smile too. Even when he was making fun of him. 

“Sorry, sorry, hahaha. It was just… I didn’t realize you were that modest. If you want, I can leave the room. Oh right, you probably can’t talk. You can shoo me away you know.”

Like hell Izaya would ever shoo him away. What if Shizuo never came back?

However, they really need to have a proper conversation so, Izaya held out a hand and used his finger to make a writing motion. 

“Later flea. We’ll talk later, for now you need to sleep.” Shizuo grabbed the wet towels. “I’ll get another cool cloth for your forehead.” With that he went back to the bathroom. 

It really felt surreal to be taken care of by Shizuo and to be so close… and to actually carry a conversation with him without him looking so angry and bitter. He really wanted to continue but he could feel his forehead getting warmer and he was already feeling drowsy. 

He lied back down as Shizuo came back to place a cool cloth on top of his forehead. Wow, that felt really nice. He closed his eyes and sighed softly. 

“Alright then, good night.” When Shizuo tried to get up, a bit frantic, Izaya quickly reached out to grab his shirt. As he grabbed onto the sleeve of Shizuo’s arm, Izaya realized how inconsiderate that might look and then he panicked and thought, maybe it was a bad idea for Shizuo to stay and take care of someone he hated. But his hand didn’t listen to him as he held onto Shizuo’s sleeve tightly. 

“What, you want me to stay? It’s already 4:35 a.m. I can call Shinra over if you really want.”

Izaya frowned and shook his head. He tugged at Shizuo’s arm sleeves, trying to get him to stay. 

“Alright, maybe I can get another two hour nap in before my work.” Shizuo sighed as he got on top of the bed, the blanket under him. He tucked Izaya back in, the cool cloth on Izaya’s forehead once more and pat the blanket on his chest.

“Sleep, flea. Get better faster so I can go home.”

Izaya closed his eyes again, feeling a bit apprehensive yet sleep came fast. Soon he started to drift back to sleep with one arm around him to keep him warm. 

  
  
  
  



	7. Chapter 7

Shizuo got up groggily. It took him a few seconds to remember why he was on this ridiculously uncomfortably soft bed facing the peaceful looking face next to him… it took him even longer to register that he wasn’t dreaming and that the one next to him wasn’t Kasuka, nor was he ten years old. 

Right, he came to Izaya’s and tried to ‘nurse’ him back to health. Rather, just put him in bed after towel drying him. 

Curse Shinra, in the end he was too busy pulling out bullets from some yakuza gang members and couldn’t come over after all. Well, that was probably more important, in retrospect, but it inconvenienced him and the overall experience made Shizuo grouchy. 

He quietly got up to at least wash his face. He needed to get back to his place to get dressed into his work clothes. It sucked, but he couldn’t take the whole day off just because some flea was an idiot and didn’t go home on time. 

...Waiting for him. Which Shizuo did NOT feel any guilt about. Nope. None, whatsoever. The flea deserved it, after all the times he had pranked him back over the years they’ve known each other!    

Except there was a possibility that this Izaya clearly had no memory of them being enemies. Except this Izaya might have gotten that said memory loss because Shizuo threw something heavy into his head, causing the said-amnesia. Except this Izaya might actually be a genuinely nice guy who was trying to make amends even though he did not remember doing anything to hurt him but was still taking responsibility for it all. 

…

Okay, he needed a cigarette break.  _ Right now _ . 

As he got up, he heard a small groan. Izaya was a really light sleeper. 

“Hey, how’s your fever?” Although he really needed to get back soon, Shizuo sat down on the bed again to check Izaya’s forehead. He placed a hand where the damp towel, now more dry, had slipped down.

“It looks like it’s gone down a lot.” Shizuo noted, more to himself since Izaya probably couldn’t answer.

He watched as the flea blinked open his eyes, then closed them like a sleepy cat.

He waited two seconds.

Sure enough, Izaya jerked up and quickly tried to get up again. 

Well, that wasn’t too surprising anymore to Shizuo since it happened earlier but Izaya still seemed shocked by the whole experience.

If someone told Shizuo that he’d be doing this, he wouldn’t have believed them either. 

“Lay down, I’m still here and I’m not going to hurt you, geez. Oh, wait. Is it something else?”

Izaya looked flustered, and Shizuo didn’t really get what he was trying to convey. It was easier to understand Celty’s body language than Izaya’s. But Shizuo had confidence that they could probably communicate even if Izaya couldn’t talk. Or maybe if this was a prank, he’d finally give up and actually say something stupid out of frustration, which was one of the reasons why Shizuo just kept talking to him even if Izaya couldn’t talk back, just to see if he ‘slipped.’

“Anyways, I’ll give you another towel for your forehead to cool you down before I go.” Shizuo grabbed the small towel and headed back to the bathroom to wet it with cold water. He came back to see Izaya curled in his blanket again. He wasn’t naked anymore so why was he trying to hide this time? Or maybe he was cold. 

Speaking of hiding…

Shizuo sat down on the bed and poked at the blanket lump. 

“Hey, come on. I don’t have all day.” 

Izaya poked his head out, so Shizuo placed his hand on the flea’s shoulder and pressed him back on the bed so he could lay flat. Then, he placed the cold towel back on Izaya’s forehead.

He watched as Izaya tried to relax as he lied there, sinking into the pillow and closing his eyes. Shizuo rubbed the back of his neck. Izaya reminded him of a cat… a cat who actually trusted him enough to close his eyes.

Back then, Izaya had sharp eyes who boldly stared back at him in challenge, ready to spring and leap if Shizuo took one step too close. 

…

Something inside Shizuo jabbed sharply at him, and he didn’t quite understand what it was. Was it guilt? Or maybe… 

... Well, this whole damn thing started because Izaya wanted forgiveness. Or at least atone for his mistakes. Again, for mistakes which he himself had no recollection of but was taking responsibility for anyway. Shizuo couldn’t really fault that. He understood all too well how it felt to wish for forgiveness and not being given it due to the ‘ _ damage’ _ he had caused. 

“Hey, flea…” Shizuo spoke softly. “Once you feel better, text me. We’ll… go out for a coffee or something. And just chat.”

That made the cat open his eyes wide in shock and stare at him. Shizuo laughed. Izaya… or at least this Izaya, was very predictable. 

“Yeah, I promise. So get better soon and text me, got it? I better get going, although Tom said I don’t have to come in… I don’t want my senpai getting hurt on the job, you know? Anyways, see ya.” Shizuo waved and closed the door behind him before Izaya figured out a way to make him stay even longer. 

 

* * *

 

  
  


Izaya got better the next day. However, he didn’t text Shizuo. He paced up and down and tried to think of what to write the entire day like a giddy school girl, annoying his secretary with several options to go over what to write. Namie wasn’t very helpful.

So a day turned into several days. Then it turned into a week. Izaya still didn’t know what to send to Shizuo. [I’m all better now, let’s go out for coffee?], sounded too straight forward. Or [Hey Shizuo, how is it going? Want to go out for a coffee?], which sounded alright but still felt lacking. 

In the end, Izaya ended up moping and ignoring his work when his phone buzzed, letting him know he got a text message. Izaya was staring at his monitor, trying to finish some work as he reached for his phone and checked the message, thinking it was from the Awakusu-kai or Asuki Group asking him for more information on their latest ‘project.’ 

Izaya jumped and banged his knee against the desk when he realized the text message read that the sender was none other than Heiwajima Shizuo. He rubbed his knee in pain as he quickly touched the screen to read. It said, [Hey, how’s your cold?]

The informant starred both in shock and happiness and then flailed around. He quickly typed, deleted, typed, deleted, typed and finally sent [I’m all better! <3 (＾▽＾)/ ]. Usually, he would have added extra hearts and sparkles, but he told himself to calm the fuck down, he wasn’t trying to pretend to be a sixteen-year-old girl online right now. 

It felt like a thousand years had passed as he did nothing but keep staring at the phone, checking to see if Shizuo would reply, when he finally got another message. He quickly opened it and it read, [Good. Want to go for coffee?]

Izaya twirled around in his swivel chair happily in celebration. Yes, of course he did! Definitely! Even if the coffee shop was at the end of the Earth or in the Seventh Hell, he would go! 

This time, he didn’t ponder over what to say. He typed, [Sounds like a good idea.]

Now the ball was in Shizuo’s court again. Izaya could pick a place, but he would rather have Shizuo do it. He wasn’t sure which part of the city the debt collector was currently in and didn’t want to inconvenience him. That and he would rather have Shizuo select a place he himself liked first.  

[Great. I’ll meet you tomorrow at 1 pm? Sunshine City Coffee shop? ]

Izaya stared at the words in disbelief. Did this mean… Shizuo was allowing him to come back to Ikebukuro? He typed back. [Okay. See you tomorrow.]

Izaya re-read the messages over and over. He even waited to see if Shizuo would reply back. Shizuo didn’t, but that didn’t matter anymore. He had a date tomorrow and tomorrow couldn’t come fast enough for the young immortal. 

  
  


* * *

 

 

Izaya took his time getting into the clothes he had decided on wearing the previous night.  He didn’t wear his usual black but a designer shirt and comfortable black jeans with a different short black jacket, which had a fur trim on the hood only. He decided to put on a stylish leather strap on one wrist. He tried styling his hair too but gave up, brushing it a bit more to make his bangs looked sharp, but that was it. He twirled around in front of his full mirror to make sure everything looked good before he headed out. 

 

‘It’s just a coffee break with him, keep it together Orihara. The plan should work.’ He told himself. But the thing was, it wasn’t lost to Izaya that Shizuo hated coffee, but Shizuo knew that  _ Izaya _ liked coffee and had offered to chat at a coffee shop. 

 

Maybe Shizuo had slowly taken the first step in forgiving him. Izaya really hoped that. At this point, it would be too hard to ask the blond to fall in love with him or even be his friend, but baby steps first. Maybe if Izaya showed how smart he was or what he could offer financially…

 

But no. Shizuo wasn’t the type who cared about anything materialistic. Izaya knew that. He knew that Shizuo was pretty much incorruptible, a man who didn’t listen to logic or reason. Whatever Izaya could offer, wealth, power, comfort, anything in this world that people would die to have, Shizuo wouldn’t care. 

For someone like Izaya, it would be truly hard to try to win his heart over even if he had the knowledge. 

Shizuo only cared about the heart. And Izaya knew, he wasn’t the best kind of person in the world. 

He had thought of several ‘battle plans’ but he knew that from what his research said, it wouldn’t matter. Shizuo seemed to have a knack for seeing through his heart and ruin his plans anyway. He didn’t like the idea that he didn’t have a ‘Plan B’ lined up to ‘Plan 74H9’ or something like that, but for the ‘date’ itself, he would just try to put his best face forward and hope for the best.

Giving up control wasn’t in Izaya’s nature but he knew that if he even hoped to have this coffee date be successful, he better not come with some ‘winning formula’ or think of this as a battle zone, or Shizuo would just see through him. After the ‘date,’ however, it was another story since he still couldn’t give up complete control

With the fluttering heart of a school girl, he opened the door to the coffee shop.

He actually came to the station fifteen minutes early but loitered around to make sure he didn’t arrive at the shop ‘too’ early. He waited until the clock turned exactly 1:00 pm before entering the shop. 

Shizuo was waiting for him. Izaya smiled as he saw the blond wave at him. Actually, Izaya had seen Shizuo walk inside the store already before he walked in. He wasn’t a stalker, nope, not Izaya.

The informant happily sat down across from Shizuo who had already ordered a strawberry bubble milk tea. He passed the menu to Izaya who took it from him gracefully. He already knew everything on the menu and he also knew what he would normally order, but Izaya pretended to take his time to read the menu again as if it were his first time. When he pointed at the drink he wanted, Shizuo nodded and went to the register to order for him. 

Izaya leaned back on the chair and looked outside the window. He loved Ikebukuro. He loved the busy streets and the people. It was good to be back here.

Shizuo came back with the hot drink and Izaya pulled out his wallet to pay for him but the blond waved at him to not bother.

“So, how’s it been? You were sick for a long time.” Shizuo sipped his drink and asked. 

[No, no. I got better earlier. I was just busy.] Izaya typed and showed it to him.

“Liar,” Shizuo smirked. “You probably didn’t want to sound too earnest.”

Right on the money. Shizuo was too hard to fool. Izaya just laughed silently. 

The sirens rang outside as four or five police cars rushed through the streets along with a team of ambulances. 

“Geez, this city is noisy as ever. That’s the third or fourth time already today.” Shizuo shook his head. “I was hoping we would have some peace and quiet.”

But it was peaceful for Izaya. He was with Shizuo at a coffee shop in Ikebukuro. He was with the man he loved, with the drink he loved, in the city he loved. Nothing in the world could be more blissful. 

“Did you hear about the fire?” Izaya could overhear a hushed voice as one gossipy girl walked by them. 

“Yeah, I heard it spread to the next building.”

“Oh, how scary…”

Ah yes, the booming and bustling city of Ikebukuro. He missed it a lot. 

[I’ve been busy with work.] Izaya replied. Well, that part was true. 

“How’s your throat?” Shizuo asked, dismissing Izaya and going straight to the point while making ‘casual’ conversation. Izaya felt cold sweat run down his back. This man… he couldn’t help but admire him. He hadn’t given up on the possibility that this was all a big set-up. 

Izaya sipped at his coffee then flinched at the temperature. Still too hot. He stirred it, breaking up the lovely coffee art.  He typed with one finger and turned the phone around so Shizuo could read, [Not really getting any better. We don’t have to talk about this. I know you don’t believe me and that’s fine.] 

Shizuo huffed. “My gut tells me you’re still lying but alright. Let’s drop the subject for now.” He sipped his milk tea a bit before he continued. “You mentioned you wanted… me to forgive you.” 

Izaya nodded. This man truly didn’t bother with wasting time did he.

“I was thinking… maybe I’ll forgive you.”

Izaya blinked. Really? Just like that? 

....What made Shizuo change his mind? Izaya was curious but he listened quietly. Sometimes, it was a good thing he couldn’t talk. Otherwise, he would be bursting with questions or try to coax the answer out of Shizuo right now and anger him by accident.

“Well, I’ll need time of course.” Shizuo folded his arms. “And I need to know that you really aren’t lying to me. About the amnesia and stuff.” Shizuo pointed at his own throat to indicate Izaya’s. “But I guess if you keep this facade up for like ten years, it means you really did lose your memory and lost your voice.”

_ Ten years?! _ It would take that long?! His shock must have shown on his face because Shizuo nodded, “You’ve been torturing me for at least that long, since high school. Whether you remember it or not.”

Oh, right. Th-that was… kind of true. Izaya’s face fell. But there was a glimmer of hope. After ten years, maybe they could be friends. After that… well… maybe it could be shorter. If he behaved nicely. Izaya just wanted to spend his time with him while this man was ‘alive’. Was it too much to ask? He may be an immortal, but Shizuo wasn’t! Time was still ticking even if it had stopped for Izaya. 

His calculating face must have also been obvious to Shizuo because the blond growled, “Izaya… I know what you might be thinking. So stop it.”

Izaya blinked. There was  _ no way _ that this man knew that he was an immortal so what the hell did Shizuo think that he was thinking? W-well anyways, Shizuo didn’t like it when he  _ planned ahead _ , so he better stop. 

Izaya still wanted to be ‘friends’ at least. Or find an excuse for them to spend more time together. He was trying not to show his ‘thinking face’ when…

“Well, you haven’t been at Ikebukuro in a while right?” Shizuo interrupted him. Izaya blinked and looked up. He nodded slowly.

“Want to walk around?”

Izaya glowed at the idea. He would love that! He enthusiastically nodded. Shizuo grabbed his own drink and got Izaya a to-go cup to pour in, and they stepped outside. 

  
  
  
  



End file.
